Tag Archives: Thomas Degasperi

The pro tournament season ended with a bang for Team GOODE as it took home three titles and a runner-up finish at last weekend’s California Pro Am at Bell Aqua Lake 2.

Regina Jaquess scored 2 buoys at 41 off to beat Manon Costard (5.5 at 39) in the final round to win her sixth career California Pro Am Women’s slalom title. Fellow GOODE skier Karen Truelove made the eight-skier finals and finished 7th.

In Men’s slalom, Thomas Degasperi rang up multiple scores into 41 – including tying for the highest score of the weekend at 3 at 41 – before finishing second behind winner Will Asher. Adam Sedlmajer continued his recent streak of good showings by making the finals and placing 6th.

In the Masters Men event, seven of the final eight skiers were all on GOODEs as Greg Badal took home the win by defeating Mark Menasci in the final round. Chad Scott finished third and Steve Schroeder fourth.

And finally, the handicapped amateur division was won by Ken Ferrante, who took home the win just a couple weeks after jumping on the new RéVolution. GOODE skier Bob Hardeman set a pending Mens 8 national record of 3 at 38 off.

Regina Jaquess won her 7th consecutive Malibu Open Women’s Slalom title Saturday as the annual event was held at Trophy Lakes in Johns Island, S.C.

Regina scored 1 buoy at 41 off to top Manon Costard (3-1/2 at 39-1/2 off) in the head-to-head finals to earn the win. She had the top score in all four rounds and was the only woman to run 39-1/2 off all weekend, which she did three times.

Both Adam Sedlmajer and Thomas Degasperi advanced to the Men’s semi-finals, eventually finishing 3rd and 6th, respectively.

In the Junior events, Griffin Stange took home the win in Boys Under 17, while Kristen Baldwin and Ali Garcia went 1-2 in the Girls Under 17 division.

Karen Truelove was joined by two relative newcomers as Team GOODE placed three of the top five finishers in Women’s slalom at the Moomba Masters. Meanwhile, Thomas Degasperi racked up his 6th career Top-5 finish on the unpredictable waters of downtown Melbourne’s Yarra River.

Karen scored 2.5 buoys at 35-feet off to place fourth. Fellow Team GOODE skiers Vennesa Vieke (2.5 at 35) and Ali Garcia (1 at 35 off) finished third and fourth, respectively, to give the event a decidedly new look. Whitney McClintock (3 at 38) took home first while Manon Costard (2.5 at 38) was second.

Vennesa’s showing put her in the 13th spot on the IWWF’s Elite Rankings list, the first time she has ever appeared on it. Her previous best showing at a major tournament was her win at last year’s SportsInsurance.com Queens Cup.

Over the last couple years Ali has transformed from talented junior to a contender at major professional tournaments. After this weekend’s Moomba results she is now ranked No. 10 on the IWWF Women’s Elite Rankings list, giving Team GOODE seven of the top-10 spots. She also took home second place in the Junior Moomba event.

Thomas saved his best for the last round, posting a score of 1 buoy at 41-feet off to finish fifth. The rest of the top five was Nate Smith (3 at 41), Stephen Neveu (2 at 41), Benjamin Stadlbaur (1 at 41), and Will Asher (1 at 41).

Team GOODE also fared well in the overall event, as Giannina Bonnemann took home the Women’s crown, while Dorien Llewellyn finished second in the Mens event.

Full of big wins, new records and exciting new products, 2017 was a great year for Team GOODE.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest stories of 2017.

Regina Rules the World(s), Again

Regina Jaquess once again led the way for Team GOODE at the World Championships, securing an unprecedented slalom/overall three-peat (2013, 2015, 2017) at the 2017 iteration held in Paris last September.

Her slalom win set the all-time mark for Women’s world slalom championships at four, breaking the record of three that she previously shared with legends Liz Allen, Cindy Todd and Helena Kjellander. Regina’s four World Slalom titles came in 2005, 2013, 2015, and now, 2017. The overall gold is the fifth of her career, the most ever for a Woman and second only behind Patrice Martin all time. She also earned a silver medal in jumping to go along with her team gold, giving her four medals during the 2017 championships.

Additional Team GOODE highlights included Felipe Miranda winning his second career World overall title and six of the 12 Women’s slalom finalists skiing on GOODEs.

GOODE Skiers Dominate Nationals

GOODE skiers won 14 national slalom titles – easily more than any other ski manufacturer – at the 75th GOODE Water Ski National Championships held in August at San Marcos River Ranch in Martindale, Texas.

New Products Top GOODE Lineup

Three new products added to the GOODE lineup in 2017 were greeted with big-time results and strong customer demand:

XTR™: Introduced at the GOODE Nationals in August, the XTR combines the world record-breaking DNA of the Nano 1XT with a trailblazing new rocker profile to create the highest performing ski in the GOODE lineup. The result? Multiple National titles, a world slalom championship, a world-record tie, two U.S. National records, and countless PBs.

Power-G-Flex™: GOODE Skis and Reflex partnered to create the Power-G-Flex system, bringing the comfort and performance long associated with the PowerShell 5 boot to the sport’s leading mechanical release system. A specially designed injection molded piece connects the PowerShell boot to the Reflex toe bar, and an added rear heal cleat secures the boot to the mechanical release. The PowerShell/Reflex pairing will come standard mounted to a G-10 carbon plate and will also feature a rear half-boot option.

The FUTURE™: GOODE’s first-ever ski designed exclusively for young up-and-coming buoy slayers, the FUTURE features all the pure carbon-fiber construction and world-record DNA you’ve come to expect in a GOODE, but with kid-friendly graphics, a more forgiving flex pattern and a great price. The FUTURE is a high-performing, no-compromises ski that will get tomorrow’s little rippers in the course and into deep shortline.

Pro Team Members Post Big Wins

Adam Sedlmajer. Photo by Des Burke-Kennedy/IWWF.

GOODE pro team members scored big victories all over the world in 2017.

Miller and Badal Face Off for Bracket Challenge Title

After four rounds and the elimination of 14 skiers, the 2017 GOODE Bracket Challenge came down to No. 1 seed vs. No. 2. Dave Miller vs. Greg Badal. Watch the video above to see who won.

National Records Go Down

Chet Raley

The U.S. National record books will look dramatically different at the end of 2017 than they did at the beginning of the year, thanks in large part to GOODE skiers.

Chet Raley first tied the Mens 6 National record, then proceeded to top it twice more, eventually ending up with a pending record of 2 buoys at 41 feet off. Joy Kelley set the Womens 6 slalom record three different times herself, ending the year with a pending record of 2 at 38 off.

Bob Hardeman set a pending Mens 8 record of 2-1/4 at 39-1/2 off, Cyndi Benzel a Womens 7 pending record of 1/2 at 38 off, Steve Raphael a Mens 7 pending record of 5-1/4 at 39-1/2 off (since disallowed due to boat path deviation) and Bill Mahan tied the Mens 8 record of 2 at 39-1/2 off.

12 #FirstTimersForFree Participate in GOODE Nationals

First time Nationals competitor Addy Flint.

Twelve skiers not only competed in their first-ever Nationals last August at San Marcos River Ranch, but they had their entry fees paid too. The #FirstTimersForFree promotion was part of GOODE’s effort to encourage Nationals participation and reward achieving major goals.

“Qualifying for and skiing in Nationals is a really big deal,” says GOODE Skis founder and president Dave Goode. “We just wanted to do something to make peoples’ first Nationals extra special and encourage even more people to come. It was really great getting to meet everyone and congratulate them personally.”

Team GOODE nearly swept the slalom medals at last weekend’s European Championships in Poland, winning five of the six medals awarded.

Clementine Lucine claimed gold to lead Team GOODE to a 1-2-3 sweep of the Women’s slalom event. She scored six buoys at 38-feet off in the finals to earn the win, while her French teammate Ambre Franc finished second with three buoys at 38 off, a half-buoy ahead of the third-place finisher, Russia’s Alisa Shevkunova.

For Clementine, the slalom gold secured her 30th career Euros gold medal.

In Men’s slalom, the Italian duo of Thomas Degasperi and Brando Caruso finished second and third, respectively, both scoring 2 buoys at 41 off in the finals, with Thomas securing the higher placement on the strength of a higher preliminary score. Great Britain’s Freddie Winter took home gold.

Both overall titles were won by GOODE athletes, with the Czech Republic’s Adam Sedlmajer winning the Men’s title, and Belarus’ Natallia Berdnikava claiming the Women’s.

It was a great weekend for Team GOODE as its skiers won a couple big tournaments and set a number of pending National records:

Vennesa Vieke took the SportsInsurance.com Queens Cup title at Little Mountain in North Carolina, beating Chelsea Mills 1.5@38 to 0.5@38 in the head-to-head finals to earn the win and a $2,000 cash prize.

Fellow GOODE skiers Joy Kelley and Cyndi Benzel took third and fifth, respectively at the Queens Cup, with Joy setting a pending National Womens 6 record of 1@38 and Cyndi Benzel setting a pending National Womens 7 record of 0.5@38.

The Water Ski World Championships concluded Sunday in Paris the same way that three previous championships have: with Regina Jaquess clutching a Women’s slalom gold medal.

Riding her GOODE XTR, Regina (United States) came out on top of two tie-breaker run offs against eventual runner-up Whitney McClintock (Canada) to claim her fourth career World slalom title (see video above). The win sets the all-time mark for Women’s world slalom championships, breaking the record of three that she previously shared with legends Liz Allen, Cindy Todd and Helena Kjellander. Regina’s four World Slalom titles came in 2005, 2013, 2015, and now, 2017.

Men’s Overall World Champion Felipe Miranda.

She also claimed the Women’s overall title, completing an unprecedented slalom/overall three-peat (2013, 2015 and 2017). The overall gold is the fifth of her career, the most ever for a Woman and second only behind Patrice Martin all time. She also earned a silver medal in jumping to go along with her team gold, giving her four medals during the championships.

Joining Regina atop the overall podium on the Men’s side was Team GOODE’s Felipe Miranda (Chile), who advanced to the Men’s slalom finals on the way to claiming overall gold, his second career World overall title.

Team GOODE kicked off a string of European pro events by taking one title and three of six available podium spots at last weekend’s San Gervasi Pro-Am in Italy.

Regina Jaquess topped Manon Costard in the head-to-head finals to earn the win, while Clementine Lucine took third and fellow GOODE skier Alisa Shevkunova finished fourth.

In Men’s slalom, Thomas Degasperi scored 4 at 41 off twice during the weekend on his way to a third-place finish. Brian Detrick scored 3 at 41 off to advance into the round of 8 before finishing fifth, while Benjamin Stadlbaur and Martin Bartalsky both posted scores into 41 off while just missing out on spots in the round of 8.

When the 58th Masters Waterski Tournament takes place this weekend at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga., some Team GOODE skiers will be looking to keep streaks going, while others will be looking to start ones of their own.

Thomas Degasperi will be putting his No. 1 IWWF Elite ranking on the line and looking to make it two major titles in a row after winning the Moomba Masters earlier this season. Thomas has had a phenomenal past 12 months, taking titles at the Malibu Open, Canadian Open and European Championships in addition to Moomba. Among the competition he’ll face on the Masters’ famed Robin Lake will be fellow Team GOODE athletes Daniel Odvarko and defending U.S. Open champion Adam Sedlmajer. Additional competitors are defending champ Nate Smith, Freddie Winter, Jason McClintock, Jon Travers, Stephen Neveu, and Will Asher.

In Women’s slalom World Elite No. 1 Regina Jaquess will of course be one of the favorites, as is appropriate for the two-time defending and seven time Women’s slalom champion. While she skipped Moomba, she looks to be in top shape after a dominating win at the Swiss Pro Slalom two weekends ago.

Her competition will include an onslaught of Team GOODE skiers, as when taking Regina into account six of the eight women in the field will ride GOODEs. Breanne Dodd, Clementine Lucine, Karen Truelove, Kate Adriaenson, and Brooke Baldwin (more on Brooke below) all made the field and are expected to challenge Regina. Whitney McClintock and Manon Costard round out the Women’s slalom field.

In the junior ranks, Brooke’s jump to the open division will end her two-year dominance of the slalom event and her three consecutive overall titles. GOODE skiers Neilly Ross and Alejandra DeOsma will be among the skiers looking to take advantage of Brooke’s absence, while Aris Techoueyres and Quinn Haines will look to claim Junior Men’s slalom titles, with Quinn competing in overall.

The top-four finishers from last season’s Big Dawg World Tour Finals have once again been invited to the Masters party. Team GOODE’s Greg Badal and Dave Miller will both compete, however fellow GOODE skier Jeremy Newby-Ricci is unable to make it to the event, opening up a spot for Jeff Rodgers. Fred Halt is the fourth competitor.

The event begins Friday with the Junior Masters and takes place throughout the weekend, concluding with the finals on Sunday.